Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-04-29

not the power of flying, and can only
reach the extremities of the limbs OH
which she deposits her eggs by crawl
ing up the trunk. They begin this
with the first warm days of Spring,
weeks before buds and leaves are ready
to put forth 1t is quite common for
them to do this while the ghts are
cold enough to harden tar in vessels
around the trees intended to obstruct
their progress. This old method has
therefore given way to spraying the
trees with water IN which London pur-
pie or Paris green has been dissolved.
thus killing the worms after they be-
gin to eat. 1t requires very little
poison TO do this. two teaspoonfuls of
poison TO barrel of water being suf-
ficient. Too strong dose might burn
the apple leaves which when young are
very tender.
DRIED HERBAGE IN WINTER.
Let the growth of the grass. clover
or other heritage be ever SO luxur ant
in the Fall, little remains of it in Spring
il left on the ground exposed to rain.
snow and freezing during the Winter.
OF everything excepting grass frost
disintergates its particles SD that moth
ing appears by Springtime. OF course
all that is soluble in the green heritage
is washed out and is either soaked in
the sol or carried Off by floods. but un-
less there is enough ibre left to keep it
from washing away the SOL is little
benefited. a heavy fall growth of oats
had better be eaten down closely rather
than saved to fall on the ground
Stock will get more benefit from the
grass than the land viii, and the
manure after it has passed through the
animals will be worth more than will
be saved from it after exposure to
Wintes's storms.
GRASS AND CLOVER SEEDING.
The fears that grass and clover will
be killed by frost if the seed be sown
too early are mostly imaginary. 1t
very rarely happens that even clover is
injured 10y frost, though the growing
plant is extremely tender. If sown
when frost is on the ground. clover
seeds are, of course, dormant until it
thaws, when they are slightly covered
by the mud that lies on newly -thawed
surface. This protects the seed fl ON
the direct rays of the sun, and it will
not sprout until the soil is warm
enough for roots to strike into. If il
falls on hard. dry surface. the seed
swells with the moisture Of rains. and
contracts when cold day stops growth,
but without serious injury. This may
occur several times with March-sown
clover seed, and, after all, the young
plant will be found in May only slight
ly, if any, larger than that sown the
middle of April.
WHY OATS DETERIoRATE,
Every few years we get some new
variety Of oats with a foreign name
generally claimed 10 be heavier and
more prolific in character than our ma
tive varieties. The truth is the change
from Spring TO the heats of summer i.
much too sudden in all our Northern
States for the proper developme mt OF
oats. Their early growth IS stimulated
by the warm weather OF Spring. caus
ing excessive growth of leaf and later
of straw. But when the grain should
be slowly filling during four to six
weeks of moderate cool weather. it is
pushed forward in half that time by the
heat. The plant in 80 short a t me can
not gather the mineral or other consti-
tuents for the grain. which S therefore
shriveled and imperfect. The use OF
concentrated fert GERS ripens the grain
even earlier than it would without
them; but to the extent that it supplies
! plant food in available form it is ben
| fetal. Many farmers believe that a
dressing of salt makes oats rs well as
other grain heavier. Where this effect
is observed t it is probably due to the
action of the salt in keeping the soil
moist and cool, and by union with slick
in the soil stifien.ng oat straw and pre-
venting it from breaking down with It's
own eight. american cult Gator.